


I Couldn't Just Let Them Hurt You

by BlueMotherLion3124



Series: Merthur Week 2020 [7]
Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Arthur Finds Out About Merlin's Magic (Merlin), BAMF Merlin (Merlin), Canon Era, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, M/M, Merlin is a Little Shit (Merlin), Mutual Pining, Pining Arthur Pendragon (Merlin), Pining Merlin (Merlin), Protective Arthur Pendragon (Merlin), Protective Merlin (Merlin), Soft Arthur Pendragon (Merlin), Soft Ending, but solely a bit, there's a bit of violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-28
Updated: 2020-12-28
Packaged: 2021-03-10 17:07:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,026
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28380675
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BlueMotherLion3124/pseuds/BlueMotherLion3124
Summary: Arthur sighs at his manservant for what might be the upteenth time today. He would rake his hand through his hair but, like Merlin, is shackled from his wrists to his feet. First and foremost, he needs to find a way to get these chains off him.
Relationships: Merlin/Arthur Pendragon (Merlin)
Series: Merthur Week 2020 [7]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2068014
Comments: 14
Kudos: 326
Collections: Merthur Week 2020





	I Couldn't Just Let Them Hurt You

**Author's Note:**

> Okay, this prompt took a little longer to write than I was expecting, but I had a lot of fun with it.
> 
> Anyway, we are at the last day of this collection! I just want to thank the people who created this challenge because it was a lot of fun to do and helped me write a wider variety than I am used to. I also want to thank everyone who has been reading all of the fics and has been enjoying them all because i really appreciate you guys and our comments made my day. And a special thank you to my best friend who has been helping me and has been encouraging me to get these prompts done. Love you!
> 
> Prompt: Free day + Magic reveal
> 
> I hope y'all enjoy!

  
  


Iron, in Merlin’s humble opinion, smells horrid. And not horrid as in “the stocks'' horrid. No, no rotten smell here. It’s not horrid like the stables either (though the stables soon becomes an acquired smell that most people are able to ignore). It is horrid in that it has no definitive smell at all. It feels cold. Merlin can definitely feel its solid weight hanging from his wrists, but iron smells like nothing he can find to identify it with.

It smells sharp. Now isn’t that odd to say. Never has Merlin ever met anything and imagined it to smell sharp. But that’s iron. There’s this hint of something. Something that makes his nostrils flare, so his brain decided that that is what a sharp smell is. 

“Oh stop moping, _Mer_ lin,” Arthur hisses next to him. Both of them are shackled by some actually competent bandits who ambushed them while they were on a hunt. “I’ll get us out of here in no time.”

“Oh sure you will. Not to be rude, _your majesty,”_ Merlin grits through his teeth, “but you have been saying that for the past hour. Unfortunately-” Merlin gestures (as well as a shackled man can when bound and thrown on top of a decomposing log) to the bandits’ campsite “-it appears that time has been made, and we are still here.”

Arthur rolls his eyes and grumbles some (probably unfavorable) words under his breath. 

The campsite has a nice fire going at the center which is too far a distance for Merlin to feel its warmth. He shivers as the winds pick up a bit as the day continues to grow shorter. The bandits are laughing at something (Merlin isn’t paying much attention) while they enjoy a nice meal of a stag (Arthur’s stag that he hunted and killed himself, and Merlin just knows he is miffed about it.)

“Merlin.” When the _fuck_ did Arthur get so close? His face is mere inches from Merlin’s and Merlin hates that he squeaked because of it.

Arthur sighs at his manservant for what might be the upteenth time today. He would rake his hand through his hair but, like Merlin, is shackled from his wrists to his feet. First and foremost, he needs to find a way to get these chains off him.

“Merlin.” Arthur licks his lips (Merlin is not distracted at all). “Think you can reach towards my belt and find my dagger?”

“What, were the bandits competent enough to shackle us, but not enough to separate you from your weapons?” He raises an eyebrow as he leans near Arthur’s belt ( _holy shit, holy shit, this was a bad idea, abort abort abort-)_

Merlin gives out a sound of triumph and pulls out (rather recklessly) Arthur’s dagger.

“Guess they’re not as competent as we thought,” Merlin remarks cheekily while dangling the blade in plain sight.

“No, but neither are you.” He takes the dagger from Merlin. “Seriously, Merlin, anyone could have seen that! Do you have an inch of self preservation at all?”

It was meant to be a rhetorical question. Arthur wasn’t waiting on an answer, and Merlin knew that. So, why in heaven’s name did Merlin think to answer it anyway?

“Well, of course I do when I am at risk of execution almost everyday!”

They both freeze when the words finally register in their minds.

“I’m sorry what?”

“Um...I- well, nothing! Uh, dagger! Why do you need the dagger?”

Ignoring the very blatantly troubling response and filing it for later (as in as soon as they are far away from danger and Arthur can hound on him on what exactly Merlin means by having his life at risk everyday), Arthur brings the dagger back and motions at Merlin.

“Give me your wrists.” Merlin gives them. “Now, this shouldn’t take too long. Just a bit longer and-” They both hear a click sound from the iron cuff and Merlin’s wrists are free.

Just having the iron off his skin is enough to make Merlin weep. Instead, he breathes out a sigh of relief. Merlin never liked iron, and not just for its horrid smell. For some reason, iron has always found a way to make him feel weak. Gaius mentioned it could be because of how iron is a repellant of magic, so for someone with an abundance of magic like Merlin, iron can be a dangerous thing to hold against him. Thankfully, the iron on these chains were more rust than pure cold iron, but he felt its draining effects anyway. 

Arthur hands the dagger to Merlin, and he takes the hint. Unlike Arthur, Merlin isn’t used to being shackled and seen as a ransom target, so his skills for when it comes to picking locks is lackluster.

“You are really taking you time.”

“Shut up, sir prat. I could just leave you here since I’m free and all.”

“Of course you would.” 

Arthur is grinning at him. It’s not helping Merlin’s situation any better. If anything, Arthur’s terrible, inappropriate (beautiful) smile is doing wonders at keeping Merlin from achieving his task. Which might soon become a problem since the bandits have finished ignoring their captives and chose now to check up on them.

Course, Merlin had no clue since his back was towards them and Arthur was busy...doing other things.

“What do yeh think yer doin’?” asks the lanky one who has quite a variety of piercings if Merlin does say so himself.

“Uh, well-I was, um...holding his hand…?” _Damnit, Merlin, no wonder Gaius always said you went to the tavern._

Merlin can see Arthur’s eyes praying for something to just eat him alive and honestly, Merlin prays that too.

The lanky bandit smirks and inches closer to the two of them.

“Really?” His eyes glance down to Merlin's bare wrists, and he snaps his fingers. 

Great.

The bandit behind him bounds over. This one is a complete contrast to the lanky one. He is wide and buff with a fur coat covering his torso. Very efficiently, the buff one grabs Merlin and pulls him up from the ground.

“Hey, that hurts! Let me go!”

“Leave him alone! He has no part in this.”

The lanky one turns back to Arthur with a smile. It’s an awful one. His teeth are all grimy and some leftover venison can be seen peeking out from between the bandit’s teeth.

“Ah, I don’t think so, highness. See, we don’t take too kindly to those thinkin’ they can outsmart us.” 

The buff on grips Merlin a little tighter, who tries his best not to make a sound. However, Arthur has always been good at picking up on all of Merlin’s tells. He can see the amount of pain his manservant is in and feels helpless since he is still in chains and can barely move his arms. 

“Now, let’s say we teach the servant boy a lesson.” The lanky bandit’s smile turns predatory and faces Merlin. Merlin glares back, his chin held up high with that entrancing fire burning inside his eyes.

Lanky Bandit turns back to Arthur. This time with a knife. He can see Merlin struggle against Buff Bandit’s hold, but when it comes to Merlin's barely there strength and the strength of a more muscular guy, it’s a losing game.

“The instructions were to bring you back alive,” Lanky Bandit hums, “but they never said unharmed.” His eyes look slightly more crazed than before and Arthur is powerless to stop the man from coming any closer, still shackled from his wrist to his ankles.

“Touch a hair on his head, and I'll make you pay for it tenfold,” Merlin growls in his struggle to be free from the buff bandit.

The lanky one laughs as he crouches down to Arthur’s level. Apparently, his breath smells worse than he could have ever imagined. And Arthur thought seeing his teeth before was bad.

“And how are you going to do that, servant boy?”

Arthur has an impulsive thought to correct the bandit. That is not just some servant boy, that is my most trusted friend. He pushes the thought back though. Best not to give the bandit more fuel to use against them. 

The knife is near his right eye. The bandit keeps his unnerving smile on, and Arthur keeps his blank. Unharmed or not, Arthur is not giving this scumbag any satisfaction from seeing him in pain. Merlin shouted again not to hurt him, and Arthur can’t help but feel warm from it. He shouldn’t need to. Arthur’s been through worse. They both know that, but seeing Merlin care and be worried for him always seems to throw Arthur off.

The knife swipes away from his face, but Arthur knows the bandit only moved it back to slash at him. He sees the arm draw back. He hears Merlin's screams, and sees the knife racing towards him. It is mere inches away until it and the lanky bandit are ripped away from him by some unseeable force.

Wrong.

Merlin found a way to get free from the buff bandit and is now glaring at the other one with such a fury. His eyes are a light with gold. Oh gods, _gold!_ He can feel the wind pick up and whip up around him until it encircles Merlin and the lanky bandit.

_Well, of course I do when I am at risk of execution almost everyday!_

Oh Merlin. His dear, sweet Merlin.

“I told you,” Merlin’s growl sounds more like an echo. “Don’t.” The wind howled harder. “Touch him.” 

From behind, the buff bandit runs up to attack, but before Arthur can even get a word in, Merlin stretches a hand behind him and throws the bandit back until he hits a nearby tree. Arthur thinks he heard a snap, but it could just be from the harsh winds.

The other bandit cowers on the ground, mumbling and bubbling some kind of apology, but it’s hard to hear over the wind. Just like the other one, Merlin stretches out his arm and the lanky one is thrown back.

From a distance, Arthur can see the rest of the bandit gang fleeing from their campsite until it’s just the two of them. The wind dies down and Arthur watches as Merlin’s eyes go from molten gold back to their light blue hue.

Cautiously, Merlin walks over to the still shackled Arthur and looks down at his king. Arthur is frozen still. Just before, Merlin looked murderous and full of rage. Now, Arthur can see the tells of a Merlin who is uncertain and scared. To be honest, Arthur doesn’t like that at all and wants to fix that.

“Are you just going to keep me like this?”

That seems to wake up his Merlin. He blinks and looks at Arthur and flushes.

“Sorry, I’ll get right to it, sire.”

Merlin murmurs a spell and Arthur sees Merlin's eyes flash from blue to gold back to blue. It was shocking, but not uncomfortable. The chains fall off and the powerlessness Arthur felt before is long gone.

He stands up and grabs Merlin by the arm and looks right at him.

“Thank you, Merlin.”

Something in Merlin's eyes flash passed but it’s too quick for Arthur to identify. However, he can spot the tears beginning to form under his eyes. Just this once, Arthur allows Merlin a hug. It was a little stiff at first since Merlin held onto him so tightly, but he soon began to loosen and brushed his nose against his manservant’s hair.

"Arthur-Arthur, I'm sorry, I...I couldn't let them hurt you. I couldn't. _Arthur--"_

“It’s alright, Merlin. I’m fine.” 

They stay like that for a while before gathering their bearings and heading back to the castle. It’s not until much later that Merlin tells Arthur everything he knows and what he’s been through since coming to camelot. And despite Arthur claiming that he would only allow Merlin that one hug, he eventually began to let Merlin hug him whenever needed. 

It’s the least he can do. Besides, Merlin gives the best hugs in Arthur's opinion.

**Author's Note:**

> okay, I have been seeing a lot of BAMF!Merlin edits so I wanted to write that for the magic reveal prompt, but this is also my first time writing Merlin being a badass instead of a soft bean, so i hope I did him justice.
> 
> If you liked it, leave a kudos and/or comment!


End file.
